1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric composition and a ceramic electronic component including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic components using ceramic materials include capacitors, inductors, piezoelectric elements, varistors, thermistors, and the like.
Among such ceramic electronic components, a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) generally has the advantageous features of a compact size with a high capacity and ease of mounting.
The MLCC is a chip-type capacitor typically mounted on a printed circuit board provided in various electronic devices including display units such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs) and the like, computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, and the like, and has an important role in being charged with, as well as discharging, electricity.
Recently, as display units such as LCDs, PDPs, and the like have been enlarged and computer CPU speeds (‘clock rates’) have been increased, an electronic apparatus may generate significant amounts of heat. Therefore, in order to enable integrated circuits (ICs) to operate stably, it is necessary to guarantee stable capacitance and reliability even at high temperatures.
Additionally, the MLCC may have a size within a wide range and various forms of lamination based on use and capacity thereof.
Specifically, in response to the recent trend towards the manufacturing of compact, light-weight and multi-functional electronic apparatuses, MLCCs used for such electronic apparatuses have also been required to have a very compact size, ultra-high capacity and elevated voltages.
Accordingly, in order to manufacture an extremely compact product, an MLCC in which a thickness of each dielectric layer and internal electrode is decreased, while the number of laminated internal electrode layers is increased to impart ultra-high capacity, is currently being manufactured.
However, in the case in which voltages are elevated along with a decrease in the thickness of the dielectric layers in the process of manufacturing MLCCs, there may be degradation in internal voltage and/or DC-bias features such as BDV, high temperature IR, and the like, due to an increase in electric field intensity applied to the dielectric layers and defects in a microfine structure, thus causing problems.
In order to prevent the above-mentioned problems, it may be necessary to prepare a base powder in microfine particle form. However, when an average particle size of the base powder is decreased, it may be difficult to realize or embody desired capacitance and temperature characteristics suitable for a user's requirements while dielectric effects (commonly referred to as ‘permittivity’) are reduced.